The Squire Chronicles
by ChaosIsBest
Summary: Story takes place some 15 years after Lady Knight and the war with Scanra. Kel decides to take on a squire for the sake of a familiar friend. Rated T for minor violence just to be safe. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**Just something I thought of randomly. Please keep an open mind to my first fanfic! :)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Kel reclined against one of the palace walls facing the practice courts. Her fingers twitched slightly. She wasn't used to being still for very long any more.

Kel thought it would be nice to have a break away from New Hope for awhile, but it had only caused her to become very fidgety. But her cousin was being knighted and her mother was very hard to refuse.

But Kel was not completely idle; she was watching a certain newly-made squire practice his jousting skills. Kel watched as the boy pushed his mount forward, galloping toward the target. The boy hit the center of the target and galloped past, safe from the enormous sandbag.

Kel smiled. He had hit the target's center every time.

Kel went up to sit on the fence. The boy charged the quintain three more times before he noticed her.

"Very nice." Kel commented after the boy had bowed his head in her direction.

"Thank you, my lady." A look of confusion was evident on his face as he trotted up to where she was. Kel laughed internally, knowing the boy was trying to figure out who she was.

"Do you have a knight master?" Kel questioned, already knowing the answer.

She noticed the boy looked down at his horse's neck, unknowingly twisting the chestnut's mane between his fingers.

"No, not yet." The young squire said, somewhat embarrassed. Kel nodded. She admired how he had said "Not Yet.". Kel had dealt with too many pessimists that a little optimism went a long way with her.

She also understood his embarrassment. Most likely all his friends had found knight masters and he was left all alone to feel sorry for himself, or something along the lines of that. And to think, he probably had only been squired three months ago. Kel snorted, remembering when she was a newly-made squire and thinking about how much her life had changed since then.

"Well, I know that your talents do not end at jousting, do they?"

The boy shrugged. Kel laughed, thinking that modesty was another good characteristic.

"Well then, how would feel about being my squire?" Kel asked, inspecting the fence casually when secretly she was dreading his reaction.

She didn't expect the boy to gape and nearly fall out of the saddle.

"Why-when-how-what-who-you're a knight?" The young squire stammered out.

Kel could barely keep from laughing at his surprised expression.

"Yes I am, and have been for awhile. Lady Knight Keladry, and you are?" Kel asked, once again already knowing the answer.

"Gregory, Gregory of Kenan."

**I know its super short but I really wanted to end the first chapter there. I was thinking of going on with a few more chapters about "adventures" the two will have, skipping parts in-between. Maybe next I'll write an awkward meeting between Kel and Cleon, hehe. Please comment! I really want to hear your thoughts! -ChaosIsBest**


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow. It has been a LONG time since I have updated and I am VERY sorry. I did not mean to go that long without updating and that was really bad of me. I sincerely apologise for being so incredibly lazy! Anyway...I hope you enjoy the story. I know I said I was going to do a chapter about Kel and Cleon but I decided to instead do Kel and Gregory arriving at New Hope, and push that off for another chapter. It's fairly short, and again, I apologize, but I think it's not bad. So enough prattling from me and on with the show!**

**Disclaimer: Tamora Pierce's awesomely creative mind owns everything...**

"That's New Hope." Kel told Gregory with a grin.

"_That_'s a refugee camp?" Gregory stared wide-eyed at Kel. She grinned at his reaction. New Hope wasn't much of a refugee town anymore; in fact it was more of a village. The cafeteria and barracks remained but the huge housing center was replaced with a smaller building. The walls had been expanded and houses dotted the landscape, relieving New Hope of the claustrophobic feeling it once had.

"Young Gregory, I hope you understand that just because you are a refugee doesn't mean you have to live like an animal!" Neal's voice came ringing from behind the two. Gregory growled as Kel was tempted for the hundredth time that day to roll her eyes at her knight friend. Since day one of their journey back to New Hope Neal had been warning Gregory with such things as "Don't let her mother you." And "Don't let her lack of emotions fool you, she can become _very_ angry." And of course Kel's personal favorite, "Don't even consider eating the vegetables." The closer they got to New Hope, the more worried Gregory seemed to get.

Kel kicked a graying Hoshi forward into a trot as they neared the gates of New Hope. Kel couldn't wait to be back inside the camp. She had been in charge of New Hope for so long, she could barely stand the thought of someone else doing _her_ job.

As soon as Kel entered the walls of the city she was completely bombarded with people. At first it was just people welcoming her back. A few waves and a "Hello!" or a smile and a "welcome back!" Then it was her group of children she taught combat to. Somehow in her busy schedule Kel managed to find time to teach the children something about combat. After all, Kel felt it was something very important for them to learn to defend themselves at an early age.

The group of children ranging from about seven to their early teens bombarded Kel with joyous shouting, laughing, and a few hugs. It took them a few minutes to acknowledge Gregory awkwardly standing there. He was unusually absorbed in the straightening of his horse's bridle.

Gregory glanced up briefly to find a group of children staring at him intently, some of their gazes not so friendly. His face turned a shade of red that made an interesting contrast with his red-orange hair.

Kel pitied the boy, knowing what it was like to be shy and introverted. She wanted to say something to Gregory or the children to end the uncomfortable moment, but she was at a loss for words.

And Neal beat her to it.

"Children, please welcome Gregory of Kenan kindly." Neal said slinging an arm around Gregory's shoulders, to which Kel could see Gregory stiffen. "He will be our Lady Knight's young squire and his abilities far exceed himself." Gregory turned an even brighter shade of red. Kel could tell from Neal's large grin that he too could see Gregory's embarrassment.

Kel had to momentarily close her eyes and take a deep breath to keep from doing something brash to Neal that could end up injuring him or worse. She was angered and annoyed at the way he had embarrassed her newly-made squire.

He had been doing that all trip. Kel had tried to get to know Gregory a little more along the trip, occasionally asking him something about his family or his years as a page. He would give a short answer and ask the same question back to her, in which she would also give a quick answer and they both would sit there in content, if not slightly awkward, silence.

But the silence didn't last long, no, Neal would soon burst in telling some long and overly dramatic story of his childhood or family. And sometimes, to make it worse, he would tell a rather embarrassing story of Kel from her past. And poor Gregory would quietly witness it all pretending not to notice his stories, though Kel could tell that it sometimes was hard for him to refrain from laughing.

Neal had tagged along with Kel to pay his daughter a "surprise visit" and watch her third year page exams. The poor girl had to endure her father barging into the mess hall in the middle of dinner to "say hello", him shouting his excitement (quite loudly Kel might add) when she had passed her exams, and a surprise room inspection.

Didn't Neal know it was hard enough being a girl training for knighthood already?

Kel was brought back to the present by a deep voice calling her name. Kel turned to see Tobe trotting toward the small group.

"Kel! Welcome back. How was your trip?" Tobe asked while taking Hoshi and the other horse's reins.

Kel was constantly amazed at how her old servant boy had grown up. It almost made her feel old. She missed the days when he didn't even come up to her shoulders. Now he was a good head taller than her, well muscled, and worked as New Hope's stable hand.

"The trip was fine," Kel replied, and then shifted her gaze to Gregory. "Tobe, I would like you to meet Gregory of Kenan, my new squire."

Tobe gave Gregory a skeptical nod and Gregory returned it, eyes cast downward.

"Ehem." Kel, Gregory, and Tobe turned to see Neal standing there with a slightly hurt look on his face.

"Oh…uh…sorry Neal, how did your daughter do on the exams?" Tobe asked, obviously not caring and still very distracted.

"Wonderfully." Neal replied, arms crossed and with a sour look on his face. He didn't appreciate Tobe's insincerity.

"Well I better get these three untacked." Tobe said, still watching Gregory warily before walking away with the three horses.

Kel sighed; the last thing she wanted was both the children _and_ Tobe giving Gregory a hard time.

"I wonder what's going on there." Kel heard Neal say quietly and looked up to see a group of people gathering around something, Kel couldn't tell what. Everyone was gasping and yelling. Kel's group of kids ran over the see what was happening just as one of New Hope's members, a middle aged man who Kel recognized as a plow worker trotted up.

"Sir Nealan, Marcus cut his hand badly in the fields."

Neal gave a sigh and with a dismissive tone muttered, "Duty calls. Good day Keladry, Gregory."

Kel couldn't help but smile and shake her head. _Always the dramatic one,_ she thought.

"Come on Gregory," She said, walking forward and motioning for her squire to follow. "I'll give you a small tour and show you where you'll be stay-" Kel had taken barely ten steps before she was stopped by a number of refugees, all spilling over with questions, problems, and other concerns. Kel looked to Gregory who threw her a pitiful glance. Kel sighed and smiled sadly.

_Welcome Home._

**WOOT!! I hope you liked it! PLEASE REVIEW!! I really want to hear your thoughts, and please point out any mistakes you find. Also, if you have any ideas those would be awesome! Anyways, thanks for reading! :) I WILL update soon, I already started writing it! Next chapter is going to have some fighting in it!!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ok, sorry its been a while again. For the last week and a half my computer was broken (I swear) and I wasn't able to get to this chapter. I finally got my new computer set up and luckily got the files from the old one and didn't have to re-write this. That would be...bad. So...enough complaining from me.**

**Thanks so much for the reviews!!! :)**

**Here's chapter 3! (It's long)**

**Disclaimer: Tamora Pierce is the genius here, not me.**

Gregory was surprised at how well New Hope was organized. Everyone had a job and all jobs got done. They still used a rotation schedule; Kel found it had worked the best. Everyone had to do every job, so it all remained fair and left little room for complaint.

Or so Gregory had thought.

When Kel had first told him this idea he was reluctant. Privy duty didn't sound too welcoming. In fact, he questioned why a trained knight (or squire for that matter) should have to do the work of a servant.

But Gregory was never really one to speak up. He did the work his knight-master told him to do, and he did it well.

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Kel watched her squire hammer a piece of wood repair to the roof of the mess hall. Even in just this small task she could see the determination on his face. That was one of the things she liked most about the boy, his quiet determination. She could already tell it would make him unstoppable.

"This is outrageous, I have never heard of such a thing!" Kel heard the shouts and inwardly groaned. New refugees. There was always one. That one that thought they were better than everyone else.

Kel turned on a man who looked to be in his early thirties and his puffy-cheeked wife.

"Is there a problem?" Kel called to the couple, her voice not giving away the utter annoyance she felt. They were a few yards away fuming at Tobe who stood there with a cornered look on his face. Tobe wasn't the best at handling people like this; he had never been much of a people person. Neal wasn't the best either; he was almost too much of a people person.

The man glared at Kel for a second with a disgusted look before walking over.

"You expect us to do such poor tasks! I am no poor filth of a farmer like the many you have here!" At this rather loud outburst some of the other refugees looked up, responding to the 'filth farmer' comment.

The man looked at the glaring faces around him and backed up a little, but his wife did not.

"I have birthed and raised six children but that you expect me and other women to do such tasks is an insult! Women cannot and should not work as men!" Kel noticed how the woman's cheeks puffed out tremendously and became a deep red the more she was angered.

"The women here at New Hope, myself included, work their fair share just like the men and no other woman has found it insulting." Kel answered in a calm voice, looking the woman square in the eye. "And it is not my problem if you are not fit enough to work as the other men _and_ women do." Kel added the last part with a smile.

Quiet laughter could be heard around the spot where Kel was standing. Kel smiled, glad her other refugees found it amusing.

The woman huffed and stalked away. _They'll come around they always do._

"Lady, I thought the war was over. Where are these new refugees coming from?" Kel looked to find Gregory standing beside her, watching the retreating refugees.

"The war may be over but the raids are not. I don't know if they ever will be." Kel said bitterly, "Even so, few are successful and maybe there is an end in sight."

Kel noticed that her squire didn't respond to her answer of his question. She could tell he was struggling with whether or not so say something.

"Gregory?" The squire's head shot up to see his knight master standing in front of him with the calm look she always held on her face.

"Yes?" He asked slowly, knowing what she wanted. Kel continued to stare at him and Gregory found it was becoming more and more uncomfortable under her gaze.

Finally he sighed and complied. "I feel that they have a point." He said very quietly.

"Who?" Gregory was surprised his knight master had heard him.

"The refugees you just talked to." Even with her ever-present mask of calm Gregory could see the look of shock that momentarily crossed Kel's face. He quickly stuttered for words.

"Well-no-I didn't-I mean-not them." Gregory took a deep breath. Kel waited for him to finish, knowing the stuttering was a habit of his when he was nervous or flustered. "Just what they were saying. You and Sir Neal, why do you do all of the chores? You are knights after all. Why don't you leave the jobs to the peasants?" He said the last part quietly, not wanting said peasants to over-hear.

"And do what?" Kel asked of her squire.

"Well, fight, defend. What you imagine a knight would do. What we trained so long for." Gregory's words came out in a rush, his face flushing immensely, his eyes cast downward. It was not like him to speak out.

Kel continued to watch her squire for a moment longer. He continued to stare at his feet, shame-faced. Gregory was frightened, hoping he hadn't sparked the anger Neal had spoken of on their journey a few weeks before.

"A knight has many jobs, not just to fight." Kel responded calmly. She wasn't too surprised; she had almost expected this from Gregory. She understood that her job at New Hope wasn't the ideal job for a knight or their squire. But it was nonetheless important.

"You might have imagined that a knight has a life filled with glory and honor, constantly fighting and protecting to defend their country. Most people do. But a knight is not only there to protect, but to help. A knight must always inspire people, set an example. A knight's job is to work to help people in any way possible whether that is fighting in a war or helping to prepare a roof in a refugee camp. No, not all knights live up to this. But you must decide Gregory if you want to be a knight for yourself or for the people of Tortal. I do expect that much of my squire." Kel said the last bit with a small smile. "And as for your training, did you not also learn to lead? To plan? To strategize? Those do not always have to apply to battle. Everything you learned as a page is valuable in many ways in life."

Gregory didn't lift his face once while Kel was talking. He nodded once when she was finished, not saying a word. She could tell he was thinking, trying to understand and apply her words. She could tell he understood.

Kel heard footsteps and turn to see Neal trotting up. "Do you mind if I borrow Sir Gregory? I'm need of and extra pair of hands." Kel noticed that Neal's hands had a layer of blood on them. She nodded and motioned for Gregory to follow her oldest friend.

Kel had noticed that Gregory enjoyed working with Neal in the infirmary. He had no healing magic, but he was both efficient and helpful and never seemed to get queasy.

Kel was left standing alone, marveling in her moment of silence that she rarely was gifted during the day. But then again she had to admit, the busyness of New Hope had really grown on her. She doubted she would ever grow bored at the refugee camp, and she liked that feeling.

Not long after she had rescued her abducted refugees, Kel was re-stationed to help fight the last remnants of the war on the border. She had stayed less than half a year before she requested a transfer back to New Hope. The position on the border was not for her. She missed New Hope immensely. The craziness, the people, the feeling that she was helping others directly. The…paperwork. She dreaded the paperwork. Kel felt she'd rather listen to Neal's love poetry than fill out paperwork. And that was definitely saying something.

Kel trudged toward her office cursing the fact that for once in her life no one stopped and averted her to another task.

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"Yes that's good. And make sure you, um, keep the staff straight as you are bringing it across your body. Good. Yes. Um, no keep it straight, like this." Gregory demonstrated to the young girl how to hold the staff before carefully moving hers to the correct position.

Kel had Gregory present at every one of her training sessions for the children. It's not that she felt he could learn anything about combat from these teachings, but she felt he could learn a bit about how to lead.

Gregory had the talent to command, Kel could see that. He just needed to gain the confidence first. So, about a week after her little chat with him about being a knight, she offered for him to teach the class.

When she first told him his face gained an expression that resembled that of a martyr. He reluctantly stood up, hands shaking, face dead white, and faced the small group of children. Even though no confrontation had occurred, the children still hadn't fully warmed up to Gregory. But they followed along with him nicely and by the end of his teachings Gregory's hands no longer shook and his face had regained some of its color.

Over time the children slowly began to like Gregory more and more. All of the children came to look up to him and respect; they even took to calling him "brother". Some of the children would follow him around, watching what he did wordlessly, occasionally asking a question or making a comment. One of the girls seemed to even have a crush on him.

And whether Gregory enjoyed the children's company or found it annoying Kel didn't know. He seemed to enjoy them. He would often during the day play games with them and at night he would tell stories or sing songs with them. It was all a huge relief for Kel.

Although Gregory had warmed up to the children, he still wasn't completely comfortable teaching the classes. But he had gotten better and Kel had noticed a significant boost in his confidence.

In the morning Kel would get up before dawn to practice with her glaive as she did every morning. And every morning she would find Gregory waiting for her. She would show him what he would be teaching the children that day and then they would both warm up, him with his staff and her with her glaive. Kel had also set up a small wooden target in a field not far from New Hope in which Gregory would practice jousting. Occasionally, knight and squire would joust against each other. Neal almost always came, waiting for the day that Gregory would unseat Kel.

It did happen once, only once. When Kel first hit the ground, she sat there in a moment of shock.

"L-lady! I'm sorry I didn't think I would-" Kel raised a hand to stop Gregory's ramblings.

"Congratulations Gregory, you have managed to best the Protector of the Small! It seems your skills are dulling Kel." Neal said with a smirk and a small bow towards Gregory.

"And how would you like to present some of your skills Neal. You always were wonderful at jousting." Kel saw a look of almost fear pass on Neal's face at the prospect of jousting her.

"Be careful boy, I think some of the anger I warned you about is coming." Neal was backing away from the fence, eying Kel.

"I'm not mad, no not at all. In fact, I'm quite proud. Good job Gregory." Kel gave her squire a small smile after glaring at Neal.

Gregory blushed. "Thank you, Lady."

Kel and Gregory would also practice archery and sword-fighting in their little make-shift arena. Gregory, though skilled in both practices, had yet to beat Kel in either. Even so, she could tell both his abilities, and most importantly, his confidence was improving immensely.

-----------------------

"Make sure you clean it thoroughly, please, it needs it."

"Yes, Lady." And with that the squire got to work with cleaning his knight-master's saddle, starting with brushing of the dust. Kel marveled at how even at this small of a task, his face was set with a determined look.

She turned and started walking out of the stable door. She was about to exit when a swarm of sparrows surrounded her, cheeping frantically. They were her best watchmen, and that was their cry of alarm.

The human call sounded soon after. A horn's blast and shouts from men, warning the camp of danger.

"Here's your chance to fight Gregory. Grab my armor, yours too." Kel said calmly to her squire. He sprinted off in the direction of their rooms.

"Tobe, start saddling-" Kel turned to find Tobe already there, halfway done with tacking Crow, her dapple-grey gelding. (Peachblossom had passed away some months ago. Much to Kel's relief, he had died peacefully one night.)

Gregory returned soon, slightly out of breath, already wearing his armor. He quickly helped Kel with her armor as the both quickly grabbed their horses from Tobe and mounted up.

"How many men?" Kel asked her flock of sparrows. They swerved and swooped, demonstrating about thirty.

"How far are they?" The sparrows then arranged themselves to show about half a mile.

Kel trotted Crow forward to wear she found about a dozen guards waiting for her. The rest of her force had already been patrolling the area under Sir Larson.

"Gregory, stay near me. If you need help, yell." Kel's squire nodded, his face looking more determined than ever.

She motioned for the group of soldiers she was commanding to follow her as the gates were opened. Kel kicked Crow into a canter, Gregory and his chestnut right next to her on the right.

In less than five minutes Kel spotted the band of raiders fighting with Larson's troops. She could tell they hadn't been fighting long. She kicked Crow into a gallop and charged toward the fighting.

Kel fought with Griffin, feeling she needed a little practice with something other than her glaive. Kel slashed at her first enemy, cutting his shoulder. He growled and raised a dull axe, but he was slow, and Kel stabbed him again with Griffin before he could strike.

Kel parried another attack; the man stumbled backward, where Crow kicked him in the head. A large man with a giant axe came at her from the left, luckily Crow side-stepped to the right so the axe's blow only left a shallow graze on her arm. Kel parried another attack before sticking Griffin into his neck, killing him.

The skirmish didn't last long. None of her men had died, and only three were badly injured. All of the raiders lay dead.

"Definitely Scanran," Sir Larson said, kicking over a body to look at the face. He sighed and gave a small chuckle. "They sure don't make raiders like they used to."

"They were a rather easy fight, if that's what you were referring to." Kel said, breathing deep from both the hard-work of fighting and the adrenaline. She surveyed the small part of the land that was littered with blood and dead bodies. She still hated the sight.

Kel looked to her squire next to her. He was breathing heavily also, covered in a mix of blood and sweat, but he himself didn't seem to be injured. She silently thanked Mithros for that.

**Thank you so much for reading!!! I hope you enjoyed it! PLEASE REVIEW!! Any ideas or criticisms are VERY welcome! **

**-ChaosIsBest**


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